Shattered Plans
Shattered Plans is a multiplayer simultaneous-move turn-based strategy game in which players conquer star systems to increase their resources, and hence ability to build more ships and conquer more star systems. The tutorial, single player mode and unrated games are free, but rated player versus player is only available to subscribing members. On November 16, 2009, an update was released which not only affected the graphics, but also added a new rule set and 3 new modes; capture and hold(known as sol in-game), points, and derelicts. The tutorial also got an update which made it easier to understand. Plot ::New Cambridge Colony ::Historical Archives :In the first half of the 22nd Century Earth Reckoning scientists in the Escher Programme began research into faster-than-light travel. Unfortunately, the exotic physics involved were not properly understood. At some point in 2137, a catastrophic test flight destabilised Earth's sun. :Using a hastily converted fleet of experimental vessels, a small fraction of humanity managed to escape the scorched ruins of Earth. Colonies were founded on a hundred worlds. Poorly equipped and without support, many failed. System after system was lost to the gathering night. :A fortunate few found more habitable planets and, around this handful of stars, civilization began to flourish once again. :These are momentous times. Your colony is preparing to return to space once more. The now-perfected wormhole technology has revealed an array of possibilities and mighty starships shall once again seek destiny in the heavens. The fates of the children of Earth rest in your hands. Background You have been placed in command of the forces defending one surviving human colony, following the disaster that rendered Earth uninhabitable. It is your job to ensure your colony prospers and triumphs in the power struggle that has resulted as the colonies have regained spaceflight. To do so, you must capture resources to build your ships, maintaining a flow of fleets to the front lines, while keeping enough in reserve to maintain order in your central systems. You also have access to powerful research projects that may help you to tip the balance. Good luck, Admiral. Glossary *'Fleet': A collection of ships. *'System': A star and its related planets. Systems are always controlled by a single player and only that player can have fleets stationed there. If another player's fleet enters the system, the two fleets engage in combat until one remains. *'Neutral': A system not under control of any player. Neutral systems never attack and do not produce fleets. *'Wormhole': Systems are connected by wormholes, which fleets use to move between systems. Fleets can jump along a single wormhole link per turn in neutral or hostile systems, but can chain jumps together in friendly territories. *'Territory': A group of systems owned by the same player that are connected by wormholes. *'Resource': There are four types of resource in Shattered Plans: Metal, Biomass, Energy and Exotics, which are used to construct fleets and research projects. *'Production': Each system has a resource output. Most systems produce low levels of one or two types of resources and only a very few systems are rich in all types. Construction of one fleet requires one unit of each resource. The total resource output of each territory is calculated and used to build fleets within that territory. *'Homeworld': A resource-rich system. A homeworld is either the starting system for one of the galaxy's colonies (indicated by a triple-chevron symbol near the system's defense strength) or a neutral homeworld (double-chevron). Terraformed systems have a single chevron. *'Non-Aggression Pact (NAP)': A temporary alliance between two colonies. After both parties agree to an alliance, they cannot attack each other for three turns. Once created, a NAP can neither be broken or extended. *'Garrison': For each system, at least one fleet per wormhole link to a hostile or neutral territory needs to be garrisoned there, to maintain order. If the garrison level falls below this, you may lose control of the system. Systems at risk of collapse are overlaid by yellow or red crosshatching. Controls *'Fleet Placement': To place fleets, click on your territory's entry in the Production pane (next to the hammer symbol), then click on a system within that territory. *'Fleet Movement': To issue a fleet order, click on a system you control with available fleets, then click on a destination system. Fleets can make one wormhole jump per turn through hostile territory, but may be able to move faster through friendly territory, depending on game settings. Fleets about to move are displayed as a dashed line between the source and destination system. *'Fleet Resizing': Once you have chosen a destination system for a move, you may increase or decrease the number of fleets you are sending there. This can be done by the system HUD of either the source or the destination system. Simply left-click on the number by the red arrow to increase how many fleets you are sending, or right-click to decrease it. *'Projects': After collecting 5 units of research of any one type, a project becomes available. To use a project, click on the entry in the Projects pane, then click on the target system(s). Each type of project has restrictions on its deployment, which will be explained when you've gathered enough resources to use it. When you use a project on a system, that system will be highlighted in that project's colour. *'Ending Turns': Clicking on the 'Ready' button at the bottom-right of the screen marks your move as complete. Once all players have completed their moves, all orders will be executed and a new turn will begin. Making another move will clear your ready status. *'Hot Keys': For placement, fleet moves and fleet strength adjustment, 'SHIFT' will make changes in units of one fleet, 'ALT' will use units of 5 fleets, and 'CTRL' will use all available fleets. *'Statistics Screen': Pressing 'SPACE' will display a page showing statistics from the active colonies. Pressing 'SPACE' again will close it. Projects Tactics Expansion Expansion is one of the key aims, as it allows you to control more worlds and as a consequence produce more fleets. Terraforming is a useful project for increasing production. First Turn #Produce 2 fleets on your homeworld. # ##Attack all 4 worlds next to your homeworld. ##Initially ignore any world with 5+ defending fleets unless they have a resource you require or you have enough spare fleets. #Adjust your attacks so that the amount of attacking fleets add up to the total of (current garrison + required to hold) on each world. #Send any further troops out from your home world making sure you leave enough in case your attacks fail (usually 4 unless you're attacking a world with 0 defending fleets). #Make sure your homeworld isn't cross-hatched when you end your turn. Bomb and invade This is where you send a stellar bomb at a planet while sending your ships to invade (Your troops will not take damage from the bomb) Teleport bomb Use a tannhauser to link a planet to one of your planets (do not choose your homeworld since the enemy can do the same if this fails. Preferably at a remote planet) Then send a stellar bomb then invade it with your troops. This works best on capture and hold modes. Beware, the enemy can send their troops to you if this tactic fails. Attacking Neutral Systems As a general rule of thumb you want to send a minimum of the total of the (current garrison + required to hold) on the world your attacking, and leave behind enough troops so that the world isn't cross hatched. When attacking a world with 0 fleets holding it, it is only necessary to send the required holding amount. For worlds with a large garrison you may find it useful to use a stellar bomb when you attack. Having taken worlds, and the worlds surrounding them, you should move any idle troops out so that they can be used the turn after to attack other worlds, or help support a world under attack. Defending Preparing for the worst One of the key steps to defending is to make sure you don't collapse if you lose a world when you're attacked. To prevent collapse it is necessary to consider your first and second lines of defense. *First line of defense: Any systems vulnerable to immediate attack by an enemy. *Second line of defense: Any system connected by a wormhole to a system in the first line of defense. Any system in the second line of defense should have one fleet for every wormhole to a first line system, in addition to any fleets required to hold due to adjacent neutral systems. Defending against attacking fleets To defend against attacking fleets one should station as many fleets as possible on the first line of defense. No fleets are needed on systems not in the first or second lines of defense. Defensive Nets should be used on first line systems, preferably those with most wormholes to enemy systems. Stellar Bombs can also be used to prevent fleets on an enemy system moving to attack. teleport safety If you have a planet that is linked with a tannhauser, set a defensive net and/or send many fleets to it. (sending fleets to it is not recommended since you will problaby need the fleets for other planets. Attacking When attacking a world it is usually necessary to leave behind enough fleets to defend it, in case your opponent also decides to attack. As a general rule of thumb you want to send a minimum of the total of the (current garrison + required to hold) on the world you're attacking when trying to gain control of opponents world. Stellar Bombs are best used on enemy systems with a large garrison, and are also useful for limiting enemy counter-attacks. The Tannhäuser Project is useful for creating new attack routes, or distracting the enemy's attention away from your target.Much of the tactics section was based on information found here. Bomb and invade This is where you send a stellar bomb at a planet while sending your ships to invade (Your troops will not take damage from the bomb) Teleport bomb Use a tannhauser to link a planet to one of your planets (do not choose your homeworld since the enemy can do the same if this fails. Preferably at a remote planet) Then send a stellar bomb then invade it with your troops. This works best on capture and hold modes. Beware, the enemy can send their troops to you if this tactic fails. Gameplay Variants The expansion on the 16th of November added three new game modes, as well as an optional change of rules. *The Sol mode always uses the same map design, (Though the planets may vary,) and can only be done on a medium-sized map. It lasts 20 turns, and whoever has controlled Sol (The remains of Earth, in the centre of the map) for the most turns wins. *The Points mode is similar to Sol, but the map can be any size or layout, and any planet gains points. 2 normal planets gets 1 point per turn, 1 neutral homeworld gets 2 points and a player homeworld gets 3 points per turn. *The derelict mode has derelict spaceships, in place of some planets, that you must control for points. There is always a larger one with 30 fleets and a defensive net in the middle of the map, that can only be reached via tannhauser. Keep in mind that holding derelict spaceships decreases fleet production. Achievements Trivia *The New Cambridge Colony is named after the location of Jagex's headquarters, Cambridge. *The "System Lost" icon comes from the European Hazard Symbol for Explosive. This image is also used in the Total Destruction Award Achievement for Dr. P. Saves the Earth. *Before the Shattered plans update on the 16th of November, the Stellar Bomb would not destroy Defensive nets. Due to much opposition from players, the Steller Bomb was later re-converted into its original form. de:Durchkreuzte Pläne __NOWYSIWYG__ Category:Strategy Games Category:Multi-player Games Category:All Games